


I'll Do My Best

by kenezbian



Series: Kenezbian's Vampire AU [7]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Enemies to Friends, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-16
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-12-12 00:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/805132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenezbian/pseuds/kenezbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin and Ray meet and fall in love, while Michael is wary of the situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin returns to the states, much to Michael's chagrin.

The door swung open, and Kara looked up from her computer. “Oh, Gavin, you made it!” she squealed, standing up and running around her desk.

“Kara!” Gavin swept the smaller girl up into a hug and they laughed. “It’s so good to meet you! Joel told me all about you. Nice to have another tease in the office.”

“Oh please, I haven’t teased a human in ages and I don’t think you have either.” She smirked as he set her down and looked over his shoulder at Burnie walking into the office. “Unless you count my interview. Burnie couldn’t resist me.”

Burnie waggled his finger. “Be fair, Kara, you had all of us going. Even Joel was getting a little heated.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Don’t exaggerate -  a microwave couldn’t heat up that frigid idiot.”

Gavin laughed and looked around. “The office looks great, Burnie. Gonna be nice to have all this room.”

“What room? It’s all full. C’mon, I’ll show you around.” Burnie clapped a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and the two men walked upstairs to the bullpen.

Miles looked up from his computer and grinned. “Hey, Gavin’s here!” He stood up and walked over, reaching out his hand. “Great to finally meet the man behind the stories.”

“Nothing terrible, I hope.” Gavin reached out and shook his hand, staring at it. “Damn, you’re cold for a human. Everything alright?”

The rest of the people in the bullpen started laughing, and Miles shook his head. “Never met a vampire in camouflage, have you?”

“No way, camo vampires are an old wives’ tale.” Gavin’s eyes narrowed into slits.

Miles shrugged. “Fine, don’t believe me. I’ll just be over here, enjoying my immortality.” He winked and sat down, stretching his arms over his head before getting back to work.

Gavin peeked in at Joel and Matt, saying hi briefly before heading back downstairs with Burnie to the Achievement Hunter office. The younger man reached for the door handle but Burnie stopped him.

“Look, before you go in…” Burnie sighed. “I hate that I have to deal with this.”

“What’s wrong?” Gavin frowned.

The older man swallowed. “Michael… might be a little rude.”

“Yeah, I know, he does the Rage Quits. I don’t think it’s anything I can’t handle.” Gavin pushed by Burnie and opened the door.

“Gavin!” Burnie hissed, but it was too late.

“Hey guys!” Gavin crowed, and Geoff and Jack turned and grinned. They stood up and shook hands and laughed, telling him things like “good to see you in the States asshole” and “hope you’re ready to get your ass kicked in HORSE!”

They stood around, shooting the breeze for a moment, but then Gavin looked over to the corner where Michael’s desk was. The redhead was sitting glumly, editing his newest video.

Gavin walked over and squeezed his shoulder, thinking maybe he didn’t hear him come in because his headphones were on. “Hey Michael,” he said cheerfully.

Michael shrugged off his hand. “In a minute,” he said, not even looking at the vampire.

Jack and Geoff shot each other looks and sat down. Gavin didn’t move and just stared at the boy until finally he removed his headphones, swiveled in his chair, and stood up. “Gavin,” he said coldly, shaking his hand minimally before sitting back down and turning back to his screen.

Gavin scoffed. “Are you mental?”

Michael snorted. “I just don’t like vampires.”

“Don’t like—” Gavin’s jaw dropped. “You work in a company with four of them!”

“It’s five, actually, now that you’re here. Don’t remind me.” Michael picked up his headphones and resumed editing.

Gavin turned to Burnie, who was standing in the doorway and watched the whole thing go down. “What the fuck is this?” he mouthed, pointing over his shoulder.

Burnie motioned for him to come into the hallway, and they walked next door to the conference room. “Michael is from New Jersey, Gavin - I know that doesn’t mean shit to you because you’re British but in the US, being from the East Coast means ‘prejudice’. They never really let go of the fears and beliefs they brought over from England in the 1700’s.”

“Why’d you let Geoff hire him then?” Gavin sat down in a chair and watched Burnie shut the door, then sit across the table from him.

“Miscommunication. We thought he knew Joel was one and was cool with it, and he thought we were a human-only company. Wasn’t a good day in the office when he caught Joel having breakfast.” Burnie ran a hand through his curls. “He agreed to stay out of Joel’s way if we didn’t mark him.”

“Michael’s unmarked?!” Gavin whispered, leaning forward. “Doesn’t he know how dangerous that is?!”

“Said it was a risk worth taking. He’s been a good employee, I can’t legally terminate him on personal beliefs like that.” Burnie shrugged. “I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gavin’s eyes were sad.

“I didn’t want to deter you from coming.” A tiny smile crossed Burnie’s face. “It’s good to have you back, Gavin.”

Gavin grinned. “Good to be back, Burns. You guys are my coven, after all. I’ll just stay out of Michael’s way and hopefully I can win him over with my natural charm.” He tugged at imaginary lapels and laughed.

“What charm? You didn’t have an ounce of charm until you were turned and even then, you’re a terrible tease.”

“Wot? No! You liar,” Gavin said, fake-frowning for a moment before breaking out into laughter. “You’re such an arsehole.”

“I missed you too, buddy.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ray's first day, and the way he meets Gavin is... interesting.

“Aaaand this is the Achievement Hunter office.” Michael pushed the door open and walked in, Ray following close behind. “Your desk is the one in the corner.”

“Oh great, put the minority in the corner. Aren’t you sweet.” Ray smirked. “Where is everyone?”

“Out at lunch, probably.” Michael sat at his desk and swiveled around. “Nice to have another human in here though.”

Ray raised an eyebrow and sat in Jack’s empty chair. “I know you don’t like them but you don’t have to be such a dick.”

“I don’t understand why you like them.” Michael frowned.

“I just like to give everyone an equal chance. No reason to hate someone based on food choice. It’d be like hating a vegan because they don’t eat meat.” Ray shrugged. “They’re people, just like everyone else.”

“They’re VAMPIRES. They EAT people, Ray.”

Ray’s jaw dropped. “Did you forget you work in an office full of synth-eaters? The only one that drinks human blood at all is Monty and he gets it from a donor office.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “You really believe that nonsense?”

“What is WRONG with you!” Ray stood up. “You moved out here and became a real dick. What happened to the sweet guy from Jersey?”

“I guess he got left there.” Michael swiveled to his computer and plunked his headphones on.

Ray threw his hands up and walked out of the room, deciding to head upstairs to talk to Burnie or Matt about Michael. He peeked into their offices but they were both out to lunch as well.

“Looking for someone?” someone asked behind him, and he jumped. He turned towards the voice, and saw Joel standing in his doorframe.

“Joel, jeez, you scared me.” He walked over and shook the vampire’s hand. “Good to see you again.”

“Good to have you on board officially. Come in,” he said, turning into the office.

Ray shut the door behind him and sat across the desk from Joel. “So Michael’s turned into a real asshole.”

Joel sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Don’t remind me. It’s gotten worse since Gavin was rehired in February. Before that, he could avoid us. Now one sits next to him and… well, it’s not pleasant.”

“But what about the videos? They’re perfectly cheery in those. It’s misleading.”

“It’s acting.” Joel shrugged. “Geoff caught Michael being snotty in a let’s play and warned him if it happened again he’d be fired.”

Ray shook his head, and both men sat in silence for a while.

Joel perked up suddenly, and smirked. “Well, Gavin’s here. Might as well have you two get aquainted.”

The blond walked into the office suddenly. “Hey Joel, have you seen— oh Ray, just the man I was looking for!” He grinned and walked over. “Michael said you walked off, I thought you might be up here.”

Ray stood up and started to go in for the handshake, but Gavin knocked his hand away and pulled him in for a big hug. “I love having new people to work with. I think you’re going to be a great addition to the team.”

The Puerto Rican patted him awkwardly on the back. “Thanks man.”

Gavin took a breath, intending to say something else, but got a whiff of Ray’s scent and suddenly held him out at arm’s length. “Oh, oh, you’re unmarked,” he said quickly, backing off.

“You alright?” Joel asked, standing up, muscles tensed.

“I-I-I’m fine,” Gavin stammered. “I just can’t be in here right now. I’m sorry, Ray,” he said, turning and bolting out.

Ray turned to Joel. “What the hell was that?”

“His instincts flared. Haven’t seen him do that since he was a newborn.” He continued watching the door, half expecting Gavin to come back.

“Should I be worried?”

Joel finally moved his stare from the door to Ray, and frowned when he saw the short human’s face. He forced himself to take a more relaxed stance, and shook his head. “No. I’m sure once I mark you it’ll be better.”

“Probably best to get it over with, then,” Ray mumbled, walking around the desk and holding out his arm.

“Don’t be upset, it has nothing to do with you personally. Sometimes it happens.”

Ray pressed his lips together in a thin line as Joel lifted his wrist to his mouth and marked him. “Will it happen again?”

“I’m not sure. If it does, you have nothing to worry about - Geoff is familiar with Gavin’s hunting techniques and Kara is right outside the door. They’ll know if something’s up.”

Ray nodded. “Thanks Joel.”

“Anytime.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin can't figure out why his instincts flare up around Ray.

Gavin burst into Joel’s office and shut the door, planting his back against it and heaving a sigh. Joel looked up as if to yell at him, but frowned. “Again?”

The Brit nodded. “I haven’t had issues like this with my instincts in years, Joel. What is  _wrong_  with me?” He sat down and put his face in his hands. “The poor kid thinks I don’t like him or something and that’s not true, I like him a lot, I just can’t—” Gavin shrugged his shoulders.

Joel clicked his mouse a few times, then shut down the computer and looked at the younger man. “Is it something he does to trigger you?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out! The first time you saw, I smelled him, right? But every other time after that has been different. Hell, all he did today was smile at me!  _A smile_.” Gavin wiped his face and started drumming his heels on the floor.

Joel blinked and leaned forward. “What do you want to do?”

“What?” Gavin stared at him.

“Listen for a minute. Instincts flare up because your body wants to do something your brain doesn’t. What is that thing?”

Gavin shook his head. “It’s not anything I recognize, that’s the problem. It’s not something I’ve felt before, not with anyone, and I don’t understand it.”

Joel nodded and sat back. “Next time it happens maybe you need to take a minute and let it happen, try to figure out what you want.”

“I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You know Geoff would never let that happen. He sees through your shit.” Joel smirked. “It’ll be fine. You just need to get it under control.”

“I hope you’re right.”

———

Achievement Hunter was filming Awesomenauts when it happened again.

“ARGH! Stop being so QUICK, Brownman!” Gavin shouted, pressing buttons frantically.

“Well stop being so strong and killing me!” Ray shouted back. He leaned back in his chair and winked at the Brit, and Gavin’s heart skipped a beat.

Or it would have, if it still did.

Gavin smirked and purred, allowing his instincts to take over slightly. Geoff shot a look over his shoulder at the vampire. “Stop, fucking, respect-blowing each other. _Oh, you’re so strong, you’re so quick._ ”

The rest of the men in the office snorted, and Gavin raised an eyebrow.

“Gavin, do you want to dutch-rudder after this?” Ray chewed his lip.

“Yeah.” He glanced over Michael’s desk and smiled widely. “Oh, yours is bigger.”

The rest of the office laughed, and Michael sighed loudly. “The base is under attack again…”

———

The let’s play finished, and Jack and Geoff began working to pack up the cords. Ray walked to Gavin and shook his hand.

“Hey man, good game today.”

“Yeah, you know it.” Gavin smiled and nodded, stretching his arms above his head for a moment before interlocking his fingers behind his head.

“You know, if you ever wanted to, like, hang out outside of work or something, that’d be cool.” Ray scratched the back of his neck and sheepishly looked to the floor. “Play some more Awesomenauts or something.”

Gavin stood up and leaned in close to Ray’s ear. “I don’t know, I was kind of looking forward to that dutch rudder. Is that offer still valid?”

“That was a joke—”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Gavin inhaled deeply through his nose and sighed, his instincts growing stronger. “Anyone ever tell you that you smell amazing?”

Geoff bumped into Gavin’s shoulder, knocking him back from Ray. “Sorry, Gav, didn’t see you there.”

Gavin shot him a glare but calmed once he saw the look on Geoff’s face. Joel was right - Geoff wouldn’t let anything happen.

“Everything alright?” The older man smirked and clapped a hand on Ray’s shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine,” Ray stuttered, heading back to his seat.

Gavin blinked and suddenly walked out. Geoff dropped the cables he was holding and followed, Jack shouting nonsense about making the tangles worse behind him.

“Gavin, Gavin wait,” Geoff said, following the blond down the hallway. “Gavin, for Christ’s sake, slow down!”

The young vampire suddenly whipped around and grabbed Geoff by the biceps. “Geoff, this is bad. This is really bad.” His eyes were wide with shock and fear.

Geoff winced at the grip, and patted Gavin’s elbows to get him to let go. “Gavin, calm down. What happened in there?”

“I-I-I don’t know, I was enjoying the let’s play one minute, and the next I would’ve paid you all a thousand pounds each to leave the building for the rest of the day so I could—” He cut himself off and shuddered, letting go of Geoff to wrap his arms around his middle.

“Is Ray really that delicious to you? Do we need to put him in a different office? I mean, I trust that you won’t eat him, but—”

“Not  _eat_ , Geoff.” Gavin’s green eyes met Geoff’s blue ones, and he leaned in to whisper in his ear.

“I want to  _mate_  him.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin and Ray confide in their friends.

Michael watched the vampire and their boss walk out, then turned to Ray. “What the fuck is that about?” he whined, thumbing over his shoulder.

Ray shrugged and began picking at a fingernail. “I wish I knew.”

The redhead watched over his shoulder as Jack and Ryan finished cleaning up, then left the room, talking about maybe going out for a beer after work. He scooted closer to Ray. “What, do you like him or something?”

Ray met Michael’s gaze briefly, then looked back at his fingernail and shrugged. “Kind of, yeah.”

Michael shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t waste your time on the asshat. You’re a human and he’s a vampire. There’s only one thing he wants from you and that’s dinner - and I don’t mean the kind where you go to a nice Italian place.”

Ray frowned. “You don’t have to say it like that.”

“Oh please, I shouldn’t have to say anything. Gavin’s a fucking tease. He was leading you on just now and you should be able to see that.”

Ray sighed. “I don’t know, Michael. There are times where I really think he does like me, but then he takes off, like just now. Why would he lead me on like that?”

“Because he’s THIRSTY, Ray! He probably realized what he’s doing and went to grab a snack. I hear Monty keeps some type A in his fridge, maybe that’s where he is.”

Ray rolled his eyes. “You’re not being any help.”

“I have no desire to help you date a bloodsucker.”

“Then why’d you even ASK me about it?!” Ray stood up and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

———

“Wait, hold on, time out.  _Mate_? Gavin, don’t be ridiculous.” Geoff shook his head. “In all my life I have never ever seen a vampire-human relationship.”

Gavin shifted nervously from foot to foot as Ryan and Jack passed, heading to Ryan’s desk in the studio. “When Joel turned me, he told me that when he was a human-eater, his alpha would get urges to mate humans. It never ended well, usually with eating or killing them otherwise.” He swallowed. “I don’t want to kill him, Geoff.”

Geoff reached out and ruffled Gavin’s hair. “It’s gonna be alright. Come on, we should talk to Joel. He’ll know what to do.”

The Brit shook his head. “Not Joel. I trust him but he’s friends with Ray. Don’t want to—”

Kara suddenly came around the corner from the studio and stopped dead in her tracks. “Whoa, everything okay in here?” She inched closer. “Gavin, what happened?”

“Oh, Dave,” Gavin said, stepping closer to her. “You were in a coven for a while, can I ask you something?”

“Always, sweetheart, what’s going on?”

Gavin linked his arm in hers and they walked back towards the studio. Geoff watched them walk away, then jumped when the door slammed behind him.

He spun around just in time for Ray to smash into him. “Sorry Geoff,” he mumbled, trying to walk around his boss.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He grabbed Ray’s elbow and spun him around. “Everything alright?”

“Michael told me Gavin was a tease. Is that true?” His eyes were wide and a little glassy.

Geoff nodded once. “Yes.”

Ray sighed and turned around. “Then that’s all I need to know.”

“Ray, wait—” Geoff said as the younger man climbed the stairs, and he sighed. “Fucking lovestruck idiots.”

———

“What’s up, sweets?” Kara asked, patting Gavin’s arm.

“Did you take a mate, when you were in your last coven?”

Kara laughed. “No. Vampires take mates for life. I’d still have him if I’d taken him.” She gasped and smirked. “Gavin, are you getting mate tingles?”

Gavin frowned at her teasing, and shrugged. “I think so, but I’m not sure.”

She turned to face him and clasped his hand in both of hers. “Does she make your instincts act up?”

“Yeah, but—”

“And does even her simplest action make your knees weak?”

“Yes, but I don’t—”

Kara jumped up and down. “Have you said anything to her? Does she feel the same way? Are you going to announce it soon?!”

“KARA.”

Gavin’s voice startled her, and she frowned. “Gavin Free, did you just voice at me?!”

“Sorry. Look, you’re making a lot of assumptions. I haven’t said anything to anyone besides you and Geoff, let alone… uh… the person.” Gavin looked around.

“Well, you should. Vampire instincts are awful when it comes to mates. You need to get that out of the way quickly before things get out of control.”

“Out of control how?” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Vampires with mate feelings can sometimes start hunting each other. You don’t want to start hunting your mate!” She crossed her arms. “Unless you’ve already gotten to that point.”

“Well… um…” He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. “What if he’s not a vampire yet?”

Kara’s jaw dropped. “ARE YOU GETTING MATE FEELINGS FOR A HUMAN?!”

Gavin cowered and nodded. “It’s not like I was trying, Kara, it was an accident, I didn’t know—”

She held up her hand and he stopped. “Gavin, who is it?”

“Ray.”

Her face softened. “You want to mate Ray?”

He nodded and stared at the ground.

“Oh Gavino,” she muttered, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek.

“You’re not mad?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry if my voice made you think so.” She stroked his arm a little. “When did you first notice?”

“The first time I met him. He smelled good and I had to book it out of Joel’s office. And it’s been a couple times since then.”

“And you haven’t said anything to him.”

“No.” Gavin clutched at her arm and leaned down. “What do I do, Dave?”

She patted his head. “You tell him.”

———

“—and then I came up here.” Ray covered his face with his hands. “Joel, what the hell is going on?!”

Joel leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Well, it sounds like Michael and Gavin are being idiots, as per usual, and you’re catching the disease.”

“Joel.” Ray’s voice was sarcastic. “Don’t be an ass.”

“So you like Gavin.”

“Yes.”

“And you haven’t told him?”

“I don’t get the chance, he hides from me because I smell delicious.”

Joel nodded. “Uh huh.”

“So what do I do?”

“You really want to know?” Joel leaned in.

“Yes!”

“Are you sure? It might get complicated.”

“Joel, don’t do this.”

Joel leaned in as close as he could to Ray. “You ready?”

“Oh my God, Joel, just—”

“YOU TELL HIM.”

Ray shivered and nodded. “You have a good point there.”

“Good. Get out.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Gavin confess their feelings to each other.

It was a Saturday, and Ray was in the office doing some filming. He typically hung out with Michael and Lindsay on weekends, but they were out of town to visit her family, so he was on his own.

He jumped when the door to the office opened suddenly, and he turned to see Gavin standing there. “Jesus fuck, Gavin you need to stomp or something.”

“Sorry, didn’t realize there’d be humans in the office today. I just came to grab my phone charger, I forgot it last night.” He walked to his desk and unplugged it. “You, uh, you busy?”

“Uh, kind of, yeah,” Ray said, turning to his monitor. “Trying to get ahead on a couple guides for the week, work on my gamer score, two birds—”

“—with one stone, I hear ya.”

Gavin stood there and dug his toe into the carpet. The silence hung between them, nearly tangible and heavy. Ray coughed.

“Hey, do you think—”

“So I was wondering—”

Both men laughed, and Gavin shook his head. “Humans first.”

Ray stood up and set his controller on the desk. “Look, Gavin, you and I have never hung out away from the office.”

“I was thinking the same thing!” Gavin grinned. “I’d love to go out sometime, if you…” He trailed off when he saw the serious look on Ray’s face.

Ray wiped a hand over his mouth. “Michael seems to think you’re only out for blood, if you get my meaning.”

Gavin frowned. “Michael’s racism knows no bounds. I know you’re not like that, please don’t start believing his shit.”

Ray held up his hands and shook his head furiously. “Nonono, Gav, I’m not like that. I’m not saying I’m friends with a lot of vampires or anything, but Michael and I are different people, had different upbringings. But he is one of my best friends and I’m not going to just disregard his opinion.”

Gavin chewed his lip and sighed. “So what are you saying then?”

Ray dropped his hands to his sides and stared at the floor. “You confuse the hell out of me. When we’re just starting to get friendly, you run away. And that nonsense the other day with the flirting? Were you flirting, or were you teasing? Just tell me the truth, please.”

The Brit watched the human carefully, and stepped closer. “Ray, you’re familiar with how our instincts work, yeah?”

“S-s-sort of,” Ray mumbled, sitting down and placing his hands awkwardly on his knees, staring at his feet.

Gavin pulled out Michael’s chair and sat across from him, propping his elbows on his knees. “Instincts flare when the vampire wants something so bad, it’s willing to overwrite the conscious part of the brain. And when I’m around you, mine sneak up and nearly hit me over the head.”

Ray looked up, dark brown eyes wide. “Why?”

The vampire opened and closed his mouth a couple times, then shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. I have an idea, but no one else here has had it happen to them so I can’t be certain.”

“Tell me,” Ray pleaded, his voice barely above a whisper.

Gavin looked everywhere but Ray’s face, and scooted backwards. “It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud.”

Ray’s jaw dropped, and he slapped his hands against his thighs. “The other day, when we were recording, was that instinct or was that you?”

“That was instinct. I was going with Joel’s advice, to let it happen, see what I learned about myself.”

“And what did you learn, Gavino?” Ray’s voice was harsh. “Jesus tapdancing Christ, I’m sitting here telling you I really like you and want to take you on a goddamn date and you’re just being a closed-mouth prick!”

He stood up. “You know what, forget it. Maybe Michael was right.”

He went to leave but Gavin quickly blocked the door. “Don’t you ever say that to me again. Are we clear?”

“Or what, you’ll eat me?” Ray frowned. “Either you start talking, or I’m leaving, one way or another.”

“You want to know what I want? Really?” Gavin snarled, lip curling back over his teeth.

“Isn’t that what I’m asking?” Ray held his arms out to the sides. “Lay it on me!”

“Ray, I want to be around you without my instincts working against me. I like you. I would love to date you. But every time we work together on something, I have to push everything down and away until I can finally get away because I am afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Ray was angry.

“Afraid that if my instincts take over, all that’s going to happen is I’ll fuck you against a desk until it breaks, hold you up by your hair, bite your jugular, suck you dry, pump you full of venom, and take your lifeless body back to my apartment where I’ll wait for you to wake up so I can fuck you some more!” Gavin seemed to tower over Ray, teeth bared, muscles tensed.

Ray gasped and stumbled backwards, tripping over his own feet and falling onto his back.

Gavin frowned and sat down abruptly in the doorway. “I have a lot of respect for you, Brownman. And I want things to go well between us, because then maybe someday…” He swallowed. “Maybe someday you’d let me turn you, and we could be mates. But that won’t happen if I’m not careful now.”

“Mates?” Ray shook his head. “Gavin, I just want to go to a movie or something. Why are you thinking so far ahead?”

“I’m not. It’s not me. I’m not like that. It’s… that other me.” Gavin waved his hand down the hallway as if he was referring to someone else. “The vampire wants it. I just want to get to know you first. But I can’t ask you to trust me when I can’t trust myself.”

The brunet nodded. “Yeah, I get you. I understand.” He scrambled to his feet. “This is not how I thought this was going to go at all.”

Gavin shrugged. “I had a pretty good idea.”

Ray held out his hand and helped Gavin to his feet. “Now that we know we both like each other, and you have an issue with your instincts, what do you suggest we do about it?”

The blond scratched his eyebrow. “Group date? Geoff is having some people over for a movie tonight, would you like to come? The Ramseys know all my tricks, even Millie. Safest place in town away from here.”

Ray’s eyes lit up and he nodded. “That sounds fabulous.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How long can they keep their relationship quiet?

“Hey, you free tonight? Lindsay’s making tacos and we were gonna rent a movie.”

Ray looked over at Michael and shook his head. “I got a date.”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “No way.”

“Yes way.” He turned back to his computer and resumed editing. “We’ve been out a couple times now. It’s nice.”

The Jersey  boy smirked. “You’ve been awfully quiet about her.”

“Yeah, well, we’re still working out bugs. You know how dating goes, the first few dates are weird.”

“Not with me and Lindsay. We clicked right away.” Michael threaded his fingers together behind his head.

“You two were friends first.” He shrugged. “It’s not that easy with us.”

Geoff coughed and spun around in his chair. “Hey Michael, Lindsay wants some footage from this weeks Rage Quit for the recap and she said you haven’t responded to her e-mail.”

“Oh shit, I forgot about that,” he said, reaching for his mouse and clicking furiously.

Ray peeked over his shoulder and Geoff winked at him, then turned back to his computer. The brunet blushed furiously, and took a moment to dig into his backpack, praying Michael wouldn’t see the red on his face.

———

Gavin tapped his foot as he listened to the ringing on the other end of the phone before it finally went to voicemail. He sighed loudly.

“Hey, you must be sleeping. I’m coming by after work with soup and movies, so don’t order out or anything okay? Feel better sweetie.” He hung up and set the phone down by his mouse.

“‘Feel better’?” Jack turned around in his chair. “I knew you were seeing someone but I didn’t know she was human.”

Gavin caught Michael side-eyeing him and ignored it, shrugging at Jack’s comment. “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

Michael scoffed and shook his head.

“Michael, do you have something you would like to add?” Jack said sarcastically.

“No.” The redhead sighed.

“That’s what I thought.” Jack poked Gavin in the knee. “You should buy a get-well present. Might win you some good boyfriend points.”

Gavin furrowed his brow. “Like what?”

“I don’t know, like chocolates or a stuffed animal-“

“Or roses,” Geoff interrupted, not bothering to turn around from his desk.

Jack laughed. “If you’re gonna get anyone roses, it should be Ray. I talked to him earlier and I think I’d rather call Satan than him again. It’s just a cold but goddamn he’s an asshole when he’s sick. Hope your girl isn’t half that sick.” He turned around back to his computer.

Gavin swallowed. “I hope you’re right.”

———

The Brit looked around the office, and when he saw it was empty save for him and Ray, he scooted around Michael’s desk to his.

“Psst. Hey,” he whispered, “wanna go to dinner tonight?”

“You took me for dinner last night,” Ray whispered back.

“Humans need to eat every day, Ray.”

“So do vampires. You didn’t hunt last night because of me.”

“I had some synth, it’ll be alright.”

Ray turned to face Gavin. “Your instincts aren’t as severe when you hunt. You should go tonight. Come see me after.”

“I don’t really want—” He stopped quickly and coughed. “No, you should put this clip here and that clip there.”

“I don’t— oh,” Ray said, catching on when Michael walked through the door, “so then everything’s in order. I get it. Thanks Gav.”

Gavin scooted back to his desk, and Michael walked past, eyes boring holes into the back of Gavin’s head.

———

“Oh my gaaaaaaaawd,” Michael moaned, slamming his hands on the desk. The other two lads nearly jumped out of their skins, and he laughed.

“Goddamn, you’re lucky Geoff’s not in here, he’d kick your ass for scaring him,” Ray said, leaning over. “What’s the matter?”

“I cannot get this shot to sync up. The video keeps jumping ahead of the audio and it’s driving me insane.” He pushed away from his desk and threw his hands up.

Ray wheeled a little closer and clicked around for a moment, then shrugged. “Sorry man, I’ve never seen this before. Maybe Gavin could help you.”

The Brit frowned at the mention of his name and braced himself for a snide comment.

“Well, Gav, what do you think?”

He looked over his shoulder and met Michael’s gaze. “You mean it?”

“I asked, didn’t I?” His eyes were narrowed but there was a ghost of a smile on his face.

Gavin grinned. “Yeah, I’ll take a look.”

He scooted over and began clicking the mouse furiously, mumbling to himself. Ray smiled and turned to Michael. “Wow, never thought I’d see that.”

Michael shrugged. “I gotta get this done and he’s better with Final Cut than I am. No sense in being a dick about it.”

“Maybe there’s no sense in being a dick ever.” Ray added.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“No, Michael, here’s your problem.” Gavin turned around and pointed. “You exported this bit of video as the wrong file size. It doesn’t match the audio you recorded. You need to go back to the source and change the file type so it matches the rest of the clips.”

“Really?” Michael leaned forward. “Well I’ll be damned. Thanks Gavin.”

Gavin was beaming. “You’re welcome.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael finds out.

Gavin pursed his lips and sighed, clicking around his web browser.

“Hey man, you look down,” Michael said, scooting closer. “What’s up?”

He shook his head. “It’s our anniversary next week, and I’m completely at a loss for what to get.”

Michael furrowed his eyebrows. “How long you been dating?”

“Six months.”

The human nodded. “Yeah, it’s that awkward place where it’s not quite long enough to be serious but it’s too long to be silly.”

“Exactly.” Gavin ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m boned.”

“Did you get candy yet?”

He shook his head. “I’ve failed at the food thing. Gosh, I’ve only been a vampire for a couple years and I’ve completely forgotten what humans eat.”

Michael laughed. “I suppose with a liquid diet there’s no reason to keep that knowledge around. Alright, so we’ll skip sweets. What about flowers?”

“Well, there’s always roses, but I get those a lot. They’ve kind of lost their meaning.”

The redhead frowned, but then snapped his fingers. “You do jewelry yet?”

“No, I was kind of holding off on that—”

“Then now is the perfect time! Here,” he shoved Gavin’s chair over and started typing into the browser. “Lindsay was just showing me this the other day. See, it’s a little vial with a teeny tiny garden in it. She wanted the daisy one, but - aha, here it is - look, this one has roses.”

Gavin smiled. “Oh wow, look at that!”

“Yeah, you give this to her with a note, say some sappy crap about loving her until the roses die, and voila. Her panties will hit the floor in no time.”

The Brit laughed. “This is perfect! Thanks, Michael.”

The human laughed. “No problem. Good luck!”

———

Michael knocked twice and walked into Ray’s apartment. “Hey Brownman.”

“Hey, nice of you to finally show.” Ray shouted from the couch. “What took you so long?”

“Lindsay needed a ride to a friend’s. She’s getting a ride home so it’s not like I have to leave to pick her up, but damn, she knew I had plans tonight. Can’t wait til her car gets out of the shop.” He walked in the flopped down on the couch across from Ray.

“So what are we doing?” Ray stared at his friend.

“You’re having me over, asshat, maybe you should’ve thought of something.” Michael laughed. “Come on, didn’t you just get some My Little Pony on dvd? We should watch the commentary on that.”

“Oh, good idea.” Ray stood up and grabbed the set off his desk. “Start at the beginning?”

“Of course.”

Ray bent down and Michael caught a glimpse of a silver chain on his neck. “Are you wearing a necklace?”

“Oh yeah, I was gonna show you. Got it for my anniversary.” He pushed the disc in and walked to Michael. “Look, isn’t it great? Permanent roses.”

The smirk on Michael’s face faded when he saw the little vial hanging on the chain in front of his face. “You motherfuckers,” he mumbled to himself, standing up and nearly shoulder-checking Ray out of his way as he walked to the kitchen.

Ray frowned and followed him. “What the fuck just happened?!” he questioned.

Michael whipped around. “Six months, Ray. You been seeing him for six months behind my goddamn back.”

“I have no idea what you’re—”

“GAVIN.” Michael spat his name in Ray’s face. “I helped him pick out that necklace for his ‘girlfriend’. You fucking lied to me about who you were seeing, Ray. You’re my best friend, how could you DO that to me?!”

“Since when is my personal relationship about YOU, Michael?!” Ray stood on his tiptoes and pointed a finger in Michael’s face. “Gavin is MY boyfriend and that doesn’t affect YOU in any way.”

“Gavin is a VAMPIRE.”

Ray scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Just when I thought you were warming up to him, your fucking racism pops up again. And you’re wondering why I didn’t tell you?”

“I think I should know when my friend is putting myself in danger.”

“DANGER?!” Ray slammed his hand on the counter. “Gavin has been more careful than some humans I know when it comes to hurting me. Our first dates were all doubles with the Ramseys because they know Gavin’s tricks.”

“OUR BOSS KNOWS?!” Michael facepalmed. “Jesus fucking Christ, Ray, the next thing you’re gonna tell me is that he wants to turn you so you can be mates forever.” Michael did a limp-wristed wave in Ray’s direction.

“So what if he did, Michael? So what!” Ray threw up his hands. “Gavin makes me happy and if he loves me enough to want to spend 300 or more years with me then goddammit, I might take him up on that offer and you couldn’t do a fucking thing to stop me.”

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try! Ray, I don’t want to see you get hurt!”

“And yet you’re going to stand in my kitchen and hurl bullshit at me about the man I love?”

Michael’s jaw dropped. “You love him?”

Ray’s eyes were narrow slits. “I love him.”

The redhead frowned. “Then I’ve already lost you to his bullshit.”

Michael turned and walked out.

———

Lindsay walked into the shared apartment later in the night. “Sweetie, I’m home, are you here?”

She heard a scoff from the bathroom, and Michael walked out. “Hey.”

“I thought you’d still be at Ray’s.” She set her purse on the counter and walked to him. “Honey, you look pissed. Did something happen?”

“Ray’s been seeing Gavin.” His voice was laced with fury.

Lindsay smiled, purposely ignoring his tone. “Oh, that’s great! I knew they were both seeing people but I didn’t know it was each other! Gosh, how exciting.”

“Oh don’t be a cunt Lindsay.”

Her jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”

“Gavin just lured him in with his goddamn instincts. You know he’s a tease.”

Lindsay frowned. “You know what? I am so sick of you.”

Michael eyes widened, and she cut him off with a wave of her hand. “No, fuck you. You are racist and it’s fucking gross. I’ve known Gavin longer than I’ve known you, Michael, and there isn’t a bad bone in his body. He wouldn’t dare hurt someone in his coven and Ray’s been marked since the day he started.”

“But what about—”

“I said SHUT UP.” She shouted at him and he blinked. “You should be happy for both of them. A vampire having romantic interest in anyone is rare and Ray is pretty fucking privileged to have it happen to him.”

“But I—”

“And Ray! How amazing is he for putting up with blood drinking and weird hours and the  _instincts_?! Goddamn, that’s awesome.”

It was his turn to stare open-mouthed at his girlfriend, and she grabbed her purse off the counter. “When you’re ready to retire your white hood, you’ll find me at Ray’s.”

“The fuck are you going to his place for?!” Michael threw up his hands.

“To congratulate him on the relationship I wish I had.” She slammed the door behind her and Michael was left standing alone in his kitchen.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael apologizes but is it accepted?

Michael’s hand hovered over the door, then fell to his side. He sighed loudly and wiped a hand over his mouth.

 _Come on you idiot, just knock,_  he said to himself, and lifted his hand again.

The door swung open quickly and Ray crossed his arms. “Gavin’s been listening to you cough and sigh out here for 10 minutes.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “He should’ve let me work up me courage.”

“Oh please, he was whining about it. It’s more about shutting him up than letting you in.”

“Hey!” came from inside the apartment.

“Lindsay’s not here,” Ray continued. “Left for her mom’s this morning. She said that if you stopped by to tell you… Hang on, I’ve got it written down…” He pulled a slip of paper out of his back pocket. “Oh, she said to tell you to fuck off.”

“Sounds like Lindsay.” Michael coughed. “Look, can we go for a walk or something?”

Ray frowned. “If you have anything to say to me you can come in and say it in front of Gavin. Otherwise, I’m with Lindsay on this one.”

The redhead chewed his lip. “Ray—”

“If you’re going to make me choose between you and him, then I’m gonna choose him purely on the principle that he isn’t. You’re my best friend but Gavin… He’s my mate. And I’m not just going to throw that away.”

Michael nodded. “Let me in.”

Ray stepped aside and he slunk in, nodding once to Gavin. The vampire nodded once back, and leaned forward to shut the TV off.

He hovered awkwardly in the kitchen, watching Ray as he shut and locked the door behind him, then walked into the living room and sat down next to Gavin.

The silence was awkward and heavy, and finally Michael coughed. “Um, I’m sorry. I said some really shitty things.”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“ _Gavin_ ,” Ray hissed, elbowing him.

“No, he’s right, I’m a real dick. And you were right, I’m warming up to this asshole—” he pointed at the Brit, “—because I thought he was dating a human girl and if he could date her without eating her then I guess he’s not so bad.”

He walked into the living room and sat on the loveseat across from the boys. “I was upset because you lied to me and I was upset because I thought you were dating a human girl too and it turned out to be a guy vampire and…” He sighed. “I know it’s unjustified and it’s no excuse for my shit but I’m not gonna deny it either.”

“So now what?” Ray asked, crossing his ankle over his knee.

Michael shrugged. “I wanna be friends. With both of you. And I know it’s gonna be a lot of work on my part to stop being a dick but I wanna do it. You guys deserve it.”

Gavin chuckled quietly. “I’m in.”

Ray scoffed. “Really?”

“What d’you mean, ‘really’? We’re Team Lads. We should all be friends.” He wrapped an arm around Ray’s shoulders and hugged him close. “You were really hurt the other day. I hate seeing you like that. And he drug himself all the way over here to apologize because he hates that he hurt you too.”

The Puerto Rican looked at Michael. “Is that true?”

“Well… yeah.” Michael shrugged. “I’m not sure what else I can say.”

Ray pursed his lips. “Are you sure about this?”

Michael nodded. “Positive.”

“It all has to stop. Not just towards Gavin because of our relationship. Joel and Monty and them too.”

The redhead chewed his lip and nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

“Good. And we reserve the right to knock you down a peg if you fuck up.” Gavin smirked.

Michael laughed. “Got it.”

“Then I guess we’re good.” Ray smiled and reached across for Michael’s hand, and he shook it firmly.

He cleared his throat. “So… you said ‘mate’.”

“No I didn’t.” Ray blushed furiously.

“I’m pretty sure you said it.” Gavin laughed. “I didn’t know you felt so strongly about me, Ray. Should I start planning the wedding?”

“Don’t you need to go apologize to your girlfriend?” Ray glared at Michael and pointed at the door.

“No changing the subject. Is it really official?” Michael leaned forward and squinted. “I mean, did he take your black cherry?”

“ _Michael!_ ” Ray squealed, and the two other men laughed.

Michael looked up at Gavin, and the vampire nodded and winked, prompting an even bigger laugh from the redhead.

“Come on, guys, don’t be assholes.” Ray sighed and shook his head. “I’m gonna regret having you two be friends.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray confronts Gavin about a problem in their relationship.

“Ray.”

The human stirred, and Gavin smiled. “Ray,” he whispered again, and finally his brown eyes cracked open. “Good morning.”

Ray groaned. “…time is it?”

“About 9:30.” The blond reached up and ran his fingers through Ray’s bed hair. “I missed you.”

“Gavin, you live here now. You don’t need to ‘miss me’.”

“But you still sleep.”

Ray rolled on his side and propped himself up on his elbow. “Gavin, we’ve been together for almost a year.”

“Yeah?” Gavin’s smile faded a little at the serious tone in Ray’s voice.

“Yeah. And I was thinking… About how I love you a lot and about how we put up with a lot of bullshit cuz we’re different species.”

Gavin pressed his lips together in a thin line.

Ray sat up and put his glasses on. “A lot of it would go away, you know, if you turned me.”

The vampire gasped and stood up. “I can’t do that, Ray.”

“Why not?” Ray stood up and walked over to him. “Is it because you’re not alpha?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want you to have the regret I do.”

Ray sighed. “Why don’t you believe me when I say that I won’t?”

“Because you don’t understand what it’s like to be a vampire.”

“I won’t understand until I am one!” He bit his lip and stared at the floor. “I don’t want kids and I’m not sure I ever wanted to even get married before I met you. And I know being mates isn’t the same as humans being married but dammit Gavin I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

“You couldn’t be content growing old with me?” Gavin pouted.

“No - because there’s no ‘with’ for us. You would always look like this, and I would end up old and frail and eventually I’ll die and you’ll have nothing for 200 years before you go feral. To me, that’s worse than being without you.”

Gavin sighed and nodded. “I can’t deny that, it’d be hard.”

“Turn me, Gavin. Turn me now, as a young man, and we can have this for the rest of our immortal lives.” He grasped Gavin’s hands. “Please, for me. For us.”

The Brit swallowed. “Ray, if we’re gonna do this, then we do it right. We go to New York, talk to your family. You take the time to be a human and enjoy it because there’s a lot of things you can never do again.”

Ray nodded. “Okay.”

Gavin gripped his shoulders. “We have to talk to Burnie and Matt and Geoff, let them know about the change, get that paperwork and your work schedule in order. Joel needs to know because he’s alpha. And you can’t keep this from Michael. He’ll never forgive you.”

Ray’s face fell. “Michael. He’s not going to like it.”

“As long as you know this is what you want to do and you’re happy about it, then he’ll accept it.” Gavin kissed him on the cheek. “I know he told you he doesn’t want to see you change but he would never stop you from being happy.”

He nodded sadly. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess this isn’t as easy as I thought.”

Gavin tilted up Ray’s chin and kissed him gently. “If we do it right, it’ll go smoothly and we might even get you turned for our anniversary.”

“You think so?” Ray’s eyes lit up a little.

Gavin nodded. “Yeah.”

They stood quietly for a minute, but then Gavin perked up and hopped away. “Wait wait, Ray, wait right there, I need to do something.”

Ray blinked and watched as Gavin went digging in the closet. “What are you doing?”

He came back into the bedroom, smiling widely. “I was gonna give this to you on our anniversary but I think now is the better moment.” He grabbed Ray’s left hand and slid a ring onto his third finger. “It’s just a plain band and to be honest I wasn’t sure why I wanted to give it to you but I thought it would be nice.”

Ray stared at it, then watched as Gavin slid one onto his own finger. “See, look, I have one too.”

“Gavin, did you just  _propose_  to me?”

The blond looked at him like he was an idiot, but the look faded into confusion, then into realization. “Oh dammit.”

He quickly got down on one knee and grabbed his hand. “Ray, will you be my mate?”

Ray sighed loudly and pulled Gavin to his feet. “Yes, you big idiot, I will.”

He wrapped his arms around Gavin’s neck and gave him a big kiss, then snuggled into his chest.

“Um, you won’t tell anyone how I fucked up, will you?”

Gavin winced at how hard Ray laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael stops by to see Gavin during Ray's transformation.

Gavin jumped at the knock on the door, and answered quickly. “Oh, Michael, you scared me.”

“You didn’t hear me coming?” Michael stepped around the vampire and into the kitchen.

“I wasn’t listening.” He watched Michael set a box on the counter. “What’s in there?”

Michael worried his lower lip between his teeth before letting out a big sigh. “Look, um, I was hoping to talk to you before you… y’know. I knew yesterday was our day but I didn’t know it was  _the_  day.”

“Yeah, well, he didn’t want to wait any longer and I think if I tried to put it off again he would’ve called  Joel.” Gavin rolled his eyes. “Gonna be interesting to get to know him as a vampire.”

“Will he change a lot?” Michael asked quietly, and Gavin stared at him.

“You honestly don’t know, do you?”

“For years I was a prejudiced motherfucker, Gavino, I don’t know my ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to the truth about vampires.” His brown eyes were wide and glassy. “My best friend is in the other room going through something I don’t understand and I’m afraid I’m gonna lose him to his instincts.”

Gavin reached out and patted Michael on the shoulder. “It’s alright. You did the right thing coming to talk to me. Come on, let’s sit down, I’ll be happy to answer any question you’ve got for me.”

Michael shook his head. “No, I can’t stay that long, Lindsay’s dragging me to some chick flick.”

The Brit groaned. “So glad I’m not you.”

“No, you just get to sit here and watch your mate twist in pain for two days.” Michael frowned. “How can you stand it?”

“I know at the end of it, everything will be better for us. It’s not easy, but it’ll be worth it.”

“And he’ll still be Ray?”

“Of course. I’ll make sure of it.” Gavin nodded once.

Michael patted the box on the counter. “I… um…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Ray is my best friend and I owe him a lot for putting up with my shit. I want him to be happy. And if he’s happy being a vampire, then…” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Then what?”

“Then I’m glad he’s gonna be with someone I trust to take care of him when I’m dead.” He slid the box towards Gavin. “These are for you.”

Gavin grabbed the box and flipped it open, pushing aside the tissue paper and gasping. “Converse?”

“Yeah, they match mine.” Michael pointed at his feet.

“Wot, you even put ‘Dickie B’ on the side?!” He pulled one shoe out of the box and grinned.

“They wouldn’t let me use ‘bitch’ so I had to improvise. You like them?”

“I love them! Thank you!” He flung his arms around the human and gave him a quick squeeze.

“Consider them a ‘thanks in advance’ gift. Don’t let anything bad happen to him, okay?” Michael patted Gavin on the back. “I really need to get going, Lindsay’s gonna kill me if I’m not back in time.”

“Oh, yeah, right, get going then.” Gavin backed off and set the shoe back in the box.

Michael started walking out the door but Gavin squeaked out something unintelligible, making him turn around. “What?”

“I said, thanks for trusting me. Means a lot.” Gavin smiled.

Michael shrugged. “Don’t fuck it up.”

“I’ll do my best.” Gavin’s chest swelled up as he repeated Michael’s words back to him. Michael nodded once before walking out and shutting the door behind him.


End file.
